Think of it as a roll of film...

A roll of film you can scroll through, with bonus commentary!

This post is a whole week late and I still haven't had time to edit and sufficiently cull the 100+ pictures from Claire's first birthday bash. So, you're getting a whole roll of film's worth (for those who never used film, that's 24 exposures. It kind of blows my mind that it would take weeks for me to use them all so I could take it to the drug store and pay $7 to have someone develop it. I don't miss the expense, and I really don't miss the lack of flexibility with the images, but I do miss that feeling of excitement when you opened up your film envelope to see what on earth was at the beginning of your roll.)

You've seen the invitations and the cupcakes, behold the good times that followed:

Oh wait, first, there was a little daycare party, hosted by Claire's teachers for each of "their babies" when they turn one. JP and I were able to be there (marking the exact moment when I lost complete control over my next week's work schedule) and we were so excited to see what Claire would do with her first ever sugary treat:

Claire: Mommy is here. Daddy is here. I was picked up, I waved bye bye- why am I out of their arms and back in my chair?

What is that?! Why do you want me to touch it? Suspicious foreign object! Suspicious foreign object!!!

The foreign object has been destroyed. Now, who is this strange boy trying to touch me?

(author's note: Landon's class had a "funky Friday" party which apparently means they got to wear make up, spray dye their hair, dance, and eat popsicles. It was a day of awesome and win for a bunch of 4-year-olds.)

Next up, Sunday party day! (We pretty much skipped over her real birthday on Saturday. She got lots of "Happy Birthday Biscuit!" exclamations over breakfast and her official present of a back yard water table, but JP had hours of swim lessons to coach, I had a million rainbow cupcakes to bake, and then we both had to attend a firm recruiting event at my managing partner's ranch that night. Claire had her Gigi in town to babysit, so I promise she didn't mind.)

Now, party prep! Claire helped.

The food and drinks (including Mexican Cheesecake dip and Bobby Flay's delicious sangria):

The sweets (painstakingly layered rainbow cupcakes with homemade butter cream frosting lovingly piped by yours truly, and a cake bought from the store)

Friends arrived at 3:00. The birthday girl and her brother slept until 3:20, when they came downstairs to find an extra 20 people in their house. Both took it well; Landon because he knew people = cake time, and Claire because it meant a bigger audience to clap for her every move.

Birthday girl with her daycare poster, tutu, and adorable birthday tee from Hang to Dry! (and me)

Landon finally gets a cupcake (with Gigi and Clairebear)

3.5 hours of billable time:

Beautiful and delicious.

High stakes game of washers (notice the rolling grass in place of the broken playscape and gravel pit thanks to days of hard work by JP; also, pretty flowers, thanks to 10 minutes of work by me!)

Birthday biscuit!

Borrowed bounce house; a big hit with all ages. (I love how tough Claire is, we call her the "honey badger" for her general fierceness)

Back inside for cake time. Claire loved her hat.

Claire: What the heck is going on?

Oooh, something for me! Everyone seems really excited about this, I'll clap for them, they like that.

Must use great caution in investigating the new, bigger foreign sugary object.

Ohh, it's edible! And delicious!

Awesome.

So, it's really okay that I'm making a huge mess and also occasionally taking bites of this thing?

Best day ever!

Purple dyed frosting on everything. Claire's $1.99 Birthday Girl bib proved to be an excellent investment as her custom shirt was the only piece of clothing in a 6 foot radius without a few new, semi-permanent dots of purple.

Happy Birthday baby girl, we love you so.